R ? H.S, GENERAL EXAMINATION. 
163 
R.H.S. GENERAL EXAMINATION. 
March 8, 1916. 
Seniors. 
The total number of candidates in the Senior Examination was eighty - 
eight. Of these nine were placed in the First Class, forty in the Second 
Class, and twenty-six in the Third, whilst eight candidates failed to 
satisfy the Examiners, and five were absent. 
The Examiners, the Rev. Prof. G. Henslow, M.A., V.M.H., and Mr,, 
James Hudson, V.M.H., say that it affords them much satisfaction to 
be able to record that, although there was a considerable falling off in 
the number of candidates, the average excellence of the answers in 
former years was well maintained. Indeed, in a few instances the 
replies were of unusual merit. Moreover, it was plainly evident when 
observation and practical experience had been the groundwork of a 
candidate's preparation — notably in the answers relating to " present- 
day economy in the Garden." 
Juniors. 
There were twenty-one entries in the Junior Examination, and 
nineteen candidates sat. Of these one succeeded in securing a place 
in the First Class, six in the Second Class, four in the Third Class, 
and four in the Fourth. Four candidates did not secure a sufficient 
number of marks to appear in the Pass List. 
This Junior Examination is a direct preparation for the Senior, 
and as a guide and help to the young student of horticulture it is 
invaluable. Young gardeners to-day should try * to realize that 
gardening is no longer in the background of the professions, as in their 
fathers' days. The introduction by the R.H.S. , with the co-operation 
of the Board of Agriculture, of the National Diploma in Horticulture, 
which can be won only by gardeners who possess a thorough know- 
ledge of the technique and principles of their art, has once and for 
ever raised their status. The greater dignity thus bestowed on 
the profession of gardening by the Society three years ago has been 
more recently emphasized by the University of London, which has this 
year established a Degree in Horticultural Science (B.Sc), of which 
the Society's Preliminary Diploma Examination forms an integral part. 
It is therefore evident that the earlier young gardeners begin to study the 
principles of plant growth and the greater the attention they give to 
perfecting themselves in canning out the practical operations involved 
in their craft the easier will be their attainment of those professional 
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